5990737 Resolution 21-441, Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016

A RESOLUTION

                                                        

21-441

 

IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

 

April 5, 2016        

 

                                   

To declare the existence of an emergency, due to congressional review, with respect to the need to amend the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 to clarify that a District government attorney, hearing officer, or administrative law judge who is required to be a member of the District of Columbia Bar as a prerequisite of employment shall file a Certificate of Good Standing from the Committee on Admissions of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals with the Department of Human Resources by December 15 of each year, to allow an attorney employed by the Council of the District of Columbia to file a Certificate of Good Standing with the Office of the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia, to allow the Director of the Department of Human Resources or the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia to verify good standing through electronic means, to clarify that the Director of the Department of Human Resources and the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia shall publish in the District of Columbia Register, on an annual basis, a list of all attorneys, hearing officers, and administrative law judges who have not met the Certificate of Good Standing filing requirement, and to authorize the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia to issue policy directives regarding timing, waiver, and notice of the Certificate of Good Standing filing requirement.

 

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Congressional Review Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2016”.

 

Sec. 2. (a)  On December 17, 2014, the Council passed the District Government Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Amendment Act of 2014, effective March 13, 2015 (D.C. Law 20-241; 62 DCR 1335) (the “2014 Act”), which clarified that hearing officers and administrative law judges are required to file a Certificate of Good Standing if their employment requires that they be members of the District of Columbia Bar.  Previously, the law required only attorneys to file such certificates, but it was discovered in 2014 that certain administrative law judges and hearing officers were allegedly presiding over their cases without being in good standing with the District of Columbia Bar.  In order to close this loophole, the Council passed the 2014 Act.

 

 

(b)  Additionally, the 2014 Act transferred responsibility for collecting Certificates of Good Standing from the District’s Department of Human Resources (“DCHR”) to the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (“BEGA”).  However, enforcement and regulatory authority remains with the DCHR.  Thus, the 2014 Act created a bifurcated process in which one agency, BEGA, acts solely as a repository for the Certificates of Good Standing, but another agency, DCHR, is responsible for ensuring that attorneys, hearing officers, and administrative law judges comply with the law and is the agency with rulemaking authority.  In order to streamline the process and to prevent duplicity, it is necessary to transfer collection authority back to DCHR.

(c)  Further, section 881 of the District of Columbia Government Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978, effective July 25, 2002 (D.C. Law 14-182; D.C. Official Code § 1-608.81) (the “1978 Act”), requires attorneys employed by an independent agency to file certificates of good standing with DCHR if they meet the applicable requirements.  The 1978 Act, confusingly, and incorrectly, defines the Council of the District of Columbia as an “independent agency.”

(d)  Accordingly, the 1978 Act required attorneys employed by the Council of the District of Columbia to file their Certificates of Good Standing with DCHR, which falls under the executive branch of the District government.  This violates the spirit of separation of powers, as it requires legislative branch employees to report to an agency overseen by the executive branch.  Thus, on January 5, 2016, the Council passed the Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Emergency Amendment Act of 2016, effective January 27, 2016 (D.C. Act 21-289; 63 DCR 1202) (the “emergency legislation”), and on February 2, 2016, passed the Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Temporary Amendment Act of 2016, enacted on February 18, 2016 (D.C. Act 21-320; 63 DCR 2215) (the “temporary legislation”), to clarify that an attorney employed by the Council of the District of Columbia who is required to file a Certificate of Good Standing shall file his or her certificate with the Office of the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia and not with DCHR. 

(e)  In order to further aid DCHR and the Office of the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia in streamlining this process, and to reduce the burden on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, DCHR, and the Office of the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia, the emergency legislation and the temporary legislation further allow DCHR and the Office of the Secretary to the Council of the District of Columbia to verify the good standing of attorneys, hearing officers, and administrative law judges through electronic means. 

(f)  The emergency legislation will expire on April 26, 2016, 3 days before the temporary legislation is projected to become law.  A congressional review emergency is necessary to ensure that the provisions of the emergency legislation continue in effect, without interruption, until the temporary legislation becomes law. 

 

            Sec. 3.  The Council of the District of Columbia determines that the circumstances enumerated in section 2 constitute emergency circumstances making it necessary that the Certificate of Good Standing Filing Requirement Congressional Review Emergency Amendment Act of 2016 be adopted after a single reading.           

            Sec. 4.  This resolution shall take effect immediately.